Parliament notebook

In the controversy over changes to Hungary’s constitution, it is not hard to see where the centre-right European People’s Party’s sympathies lie. Loyalty to Fidesz, the party of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, trumps any EU concerns. So handling of the Hungarian issue within the EPP group of MEPs was left to József Szájer, a Hungarian Fidesz party MEP and vice-chair of the EPP group. Coincidentally, he contributed to drafting Hungary’s contentious constitution. Unsurprisingly then, discussion of the issue at EPP group meetings has been limited: Szájer controls the agenda.

And another Hungarian Fidesz MEP was in position to control a discussion at the Parliament’s civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee last week (12 January). Juan Fernando López Aguilar, a Spanish centre-right MEP, who is chairman of the committee, was, for personal reasons, in Spain on the day of the debate. So it fell to Kinga Gál, who happens to be the first vice-president of the committee, to chair the debate. Louis Michel, a Belgian liberal MEP and former European commissioner, bridled when she tried to get him to stop talking beyond his allotted time. “You feel uncomfortable. I understand that,” he said.

United in silence, at least

Jerzy Buzek ruffled some feathers on Monday, at what was to be his last plenary session before stepping down as president of the Parliament. He called for MEPs to observe a minute’s silence to mark the passing of both Václav Havel, the former president of the Czech Republic who died before Christmas, and – more controversially – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, who died on 15 January at the age of 89. Fraga was not just a former MEP (between 1987 and 1989): he had also been a government minister in the Franco era – the last surviving such minister. Minister for tourism and information under Franco (1962-69), he was also interior minister in the first government under King Juan Carlos (1975-76).

Buzek justified the respect for Fraga on the grounds that he had played a part in Spain’s transition to democracy after Franco’s death in 1975. He may also have been influenced by the presence of Fraga’s daughter, Carmen Fraga Estévez, who has been an MEP for 16 of the last 18 years. But British Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford was among those who baulked at Buzek’s decision to group the two men together. She was not alone in finding the pairing of Havel and Fraga somewhat incongruous. Decisions about whether to observe a minute’s silence and for whom are solely at the discretion of the Parliament’s president.

German-Italian dealmaking

Within the centre-right European People’s Party group, the German and Italian delegations struck a deal. Elmar Brok could have the chairmanship of the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee that has recently been held by Gabriele Albertini. In return, Amalia Sartoria would take the chairmanship of the industry, research and energy committee, succeeding Herbert Reul. (Reul has become leader of the German delegation of Christian Democrat MEPs.)

The consequences of this nationality swap are not just that Brok regains a chairmanship that he held from 1999 to 2007, but also that an Italian centre-right MEP will now chair the committee that is supposed to hold to account Antonio Tajani (Italian, centre-right), the European commissioner for enterprise and industry.

Where are the women?

There are two Parliamentary committees that have never elected women as their chairwomen. One is agriculture (perhaps not a surprise, since it has been dominated by farmers). The other is perhaps more surprising: constitutional affairs. The changes agreed this week to committee chairmanships do not change this unenviable record: the committees for agriculture and constitutional affairs maintain their women-free chairs.